Sewing-machine needle



(No Model.)

E.J.HALL.- SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE.

No. 471,972. Patented Mar. 29, 1892.-

UNITED 1 STAT S PATENT O ICE,

EVA JENNIE HALL, OF STILLWATER, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO THE ST. OROIX MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HUDSON, WVISOONSIN.

SEWING-MACHINE NEEDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,972, dated March 29, 1892.

Application filed January 10, 1891. Serial No. 377,353- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

.Be it known that I, EVA JENNIE HALL, of Stillwater, in the county of Vashington, and in the State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Needles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a view in elevation of my improved needle with the eye-closing spring removed; Fig. 2, a similar view of the needle with the spring fixed in place; Fig. 3, a view showing in elevation the spring-receivin g side of the needle and the inner face of the spring; Fig. 4, a similar View of the needle with the spring in place, covering the open side of the eye; Fig. 5, a detail view on an enlarged scale, showing the attaching portion of the spring in elevation and the lower end portion of the needle in longitudinal section; Fig. 6, a detail View, on an enlarged scale, of a longitudinal section of the lower portion of the needle-- body and spring attached together; Fig. 7, a view of asection on line w w of Fig. 6; Fig.8, a View of a section on line y y of Fig. -6; Fig. 9, a detail view on an enlarged scale, showing the upper spring end in its receiving-slot in the needle; Fig. 10, a similar view looking at the side of the needle-end-receiving slot, and Fig. 11 a View of a section on line zz of Figs. 9 and 10.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The object of my invention has been to provide an improved quick-threading needle for sewing-machines; and to this end it con sists in the needle and in the parts thereof constructed, arranged, and combined as hereinafter specified. L

The needle as shown, described, and claimed in the present case is intended to be an improvement upon my needle as set forth in my pending application for United States Patent, Serial No. 294,959. That needle has an opensided eye situated to one side of the axis of the needle-body, a spring attached to said body below the eye and extending up past the latter, so as to close the opening into the same, and a hood attached to the upper part or shank of the needle and extending down over the outturned upper end of the spring.

Such hood covered the spring end,but was so arranged as to allow the passage of a thread up behind it and over the spring into posi+ tion to be moved down behind the latter into the needle-eye. The object of so constructing the needle was to enable it to be most easily and quickly threaded without the necessity of passing the thread endwise through a closed sided eye, and at the same time to make certain the normal covering and closing of the opening into the eye, so that the thread could not work out of and nothing could accidentally get into or catchin the same during use of the needle. The hood or cap, while holding the upper end of the spring in place, was also to serve as a protection for the same to keep it from being accidentally caught and bent outward from the needlebody by anything coming in contact with it when the needle is being used.

In my present needle my special purpose has been to do away with any hood or cap made separate from andattached to the needle body or shank, as in my former invention referred to, to attach the eye -closing spring in the best and firmest way to the needle-body, so that it cannot become detached therefrom and will be held normally closeto and in line therewith, and to provide means for effectually preventing the upper end of the spring from being forced or getting to one side or the other of its proper longitudinal position with reference to the'needle-body during use of the needle.

In the drawings, A designates the thick upper part or shank of the needle adaptedto be engaged by the clamp on the needle-bar of a' sewing-machine, and A designates the reduced lower part or body having on its lower end the usual point a. Just above the latter is the thread-receiving eye a, which, as shown, is situated out of line with or to one side of the center of the needle-body and has its outer side left open. Extending from the eye above and below the same on opposite sides of the needle are the thread-grooves (fia one running up to and into the enlarged shankA and the other being shorter and extending only part way up portion A. On the side upon which the eyeis situated said portion is slabbed off or flattened to accommodate the eye-closing spring 13, consisting, essentially, of a flat strip of spring material, preferably steel, provided on the inner side of its lower end with a short longitudinal web I) and a tongue or projection b for attaching it to the needle-body. Extending through the latter at apoint below the eye a and in a direction at right angles to the slabbed or flattened side of the needle-body is an opening a for receiving the spring-tongue, while at the end of such opening toward the spring is the longitudinal groove or narrow recess a to receive and engage the web I). As shown in the drawings, there is a second corresponding groove (1 atthe other end of the opening, for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. Both grooves can be made in any desired way and of any suitable shape without departure from my invention. They need not be of the same shape, and the one a? is not necessarily a 1011- gitudinal groove, but may be a simple recess, round or otherwise in general form.

.In making my needle I find it best and easiest to first cut the two grooves a a in substantially the shape shown in the drawings by means of small circular slotting or grooving saws and then punch the opening a through. The saws in cutting through the outside surface or skin of the needle-body and some way into the latter make the punching operation a much easier one than it would otherwise be. With the needle punched and grooved or recessed, as described, and the spring provided with the web 5, adapted to,

fit the groove a the spring is fastened in place by inserting its tongue through the opening a until said web is seated in its receiving-groove, and then by swagin g or hammering heading the outer or farther end of the tongue down into the groove a The web, tongue, and head thereon will then be shaped substantially as shown in Figs. 6 and S, and the spring end will be most firmly and securely fastened to the needle-body, so that the inner face of the spring will be close against the flattened side of such body and will cover the opening into the eye. The 1011" gitudinal web I) on the spring, fitting the longitudinal groove a will act to hold the springbody normally in line with the needle-body and prevent its turning or swinging to one side or the other.

WVhile I prefer to make the groove a alongitudinal one, like a, as its main function is to accommodate the head produced on the tongue I) by the hammering or swaging operation, it does not necessarily have the shape of a narrow channel or groove, but can be of any other desired form without departure from my invention. The tongue and the receiving-opening a therefor in the needlebody are shown to be flat or oblong in crosssection, and I prefersuch construction, while I do not limit myself thereto. A round or otherwise formed tongue and a correspondingly-shaped opening can be used instead.

From its point of attachment the spring extends up along the flat side of the needlebody past the eye and at its upper end projects into the cut or slot 0, which runs upwardly and inwardly at an angle to the plane of the ueedle-bodys flat side. As shown, this slot begins in that part of the needle where the thick upper portion or shank joins the smaller lower part or body A and extends up into said thick part far enough to carry its inner end inward beyond the face against which the spring rests and above the spring end. The upper portion of the spring extending up beyond the lower side of the slot into contact with the upper or outer wall of the latter, is unsupported by the needlebody against being bent inward by pressure on its outer side. The slot should be made larger than is necessary to merely accommodate the thickness of the spring end, so as to allow room for the passage of a thread between the outer side of the spring and the outer wall of the slot. If desired, in order to make room for the thread and to give greater flexibility to the upper part of the spring such part can be tapered off or reduced in thickness toward its end, as indicated in Fig. 10.

\Vhile the web I) on the lower end of the spring fitting the groove at, as hercinbefore described, will serve to hold the spring normally in line with the needle-bod y, so that the upper spring end will be in slot 0, I find itdesirable to provide means for certainly preventing said end from getting or being forced to one side or the other, so as to get out of or project beyond theslot. For this purpose I notch or fork the upper end of the spring, as shown at b in the drawings, and have within the slot 0 a stop C, situated between the arms of the spring-fork, so that neither of said arms can be carried pastit by a sidewise movement of the spring end. The stop and notch are of such size and shape with relation to each other as to leave aspace betweenthe stop and edges of the notch sufficient to allow the free passage of a thread of the size to be used with the needle. In other words, the stop does not fit the notch and does not extend to the bottom or lower end thereof. It is of such size, however, with reference to the notch asto be engaged by a side of the latter as the spring end isforced to one side before the outer edge of such end is carried beyond the protecting-slot C.

The form of stop which I prefer consists of a V-shaped part of the needle body or shank left in the process of making slot 0; but I do not limit myself thereto. If desired, the stop can be formed separately from the needle body or shank and put in place in the slot after the latter has been formed. It may be in the form of a pin, situated as indicated by dotted lines in several figures of the drawin gs, without departure from my invention.

With the relative construction of slot, stop, and notched spring end shown and described if a thread D be passed sidewise up into the 0, arranged as described and shown, provides slot to the position shown in Fig. 9 it will engage and press backward the arms forming the spring end on opposite sides of the stop 0, and then passing above such arms will allow the spring end to fly forward again into its normal position against the front or outer wall of the slot. Said slot is then closed against the outward passage of the thread, and the latter is in position to be moved downward behind the spring end and between the main part of the spring and the needle-body until it reaches and enters the open side of the thread-receiving eye a. \Vhile the thread is traveling down, the spring yields outward, returning to its normal position close against the needle-body, when the thread passes into the eye.

The manner of using my improved needle, which will be fully understood from the foregoing description and the drawings, is briefly as follows: When the needle is to be threaded, the thread, either held between the fingers or in the form of a loop, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 9, is passed bodily upward and inward into the slot 0. The portions of the thread or loop on opposite sides of the stop 0' engaging the arms of the fork on the spring end force them inward and then pass above them. The spring end then snaps quickly back into its normal position across the lower portion of the slot, so that the thread can be moved downward at once with the certainty that it cannot get out of the slot, but will be guided down behind the spring and between the latter and the needle-body, as indicated hereinbefore. Then the thread carried downward is in the eye, the spring will effectually close the open side of the latter, so that the thread cannot work or get out again during a sewing operation.

My needle, constructed and arranged as described and shown, is cheaply and easily made and not liable to get out of order or be broken in use. The eye-closing spring is most securely fastened at its lower end to the needlebody by a fastening, which, while simple and most efficientin securely attaching the spring, does not involve any injurious weakening of the needle-body at its point. The cut or slot for the protection of the upper end of the spring against being accidentally engaged and forced outward away from the needlebody by anything coming against it during use, and the stop within the slot acts effectually with the notch or fork in the spring end to keep such end from getting or being forced to one side, so as to project beyond the slot.

The latter, beginning, as it does,in the thicktion or shank, the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the passage into the latter, and the slot up into which the spring end projects, extending into the shank beyond the spring end, made larger than the latter, so as to allow the passage of a thread upward and inward over the spring end, and having on its outer side the lip extending downwardly over the spring end, but not outwardly beyond the periphery of the needle-shank, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the opening into the latter, having its end provided with a notch, a slot into which the spring end projects, and a stop between the sides of the spring-notch to limit the lateral movement of the spring end, sub stantially as and for the purpose shown.

3. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing'the openinginto the latter, having its free end notched, a slot into which the spring end projects, and a stop within such slot, consisting of a portion of the needle-body projecting down into the spring-end notch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of December, A. D. 1890.

EVA J ENNIE HALL.

Witnesses:

A. E. MAOARTNEY, N. H. CLAPP. 

